Tuesday, July 22, 2014

For the hundredth time - I'm happy! So, so happy.4-21-14

Hello! Had a great week! Happy Easter by the way! (no
bunnies in the Philippines)

…Where to start? …VERN CAME TO CHURCH!!! If
only I could just send home a video of me shouting/ jumping up and down in
circles because of how happy I am! Don’t you see how happy missionary
work makes us? I love it.

The week as a whole was great. The weekdays were busy
with random things coming up, but Saturday we got to teach all day and Sunday
was of course amazing to have Vern there. It was Holy Week last
week! This is a huge deal here, lots of processions and other
celebrations. Saw some pretty intense things, definitely stories for a
different day. We had a 6pm curfew on Friday and Sunday because of it.

Saturday was awesome! I got to go on exchanges with
Elder Gunnell. We went on exchanges together early last year, so it was
great to be together again! Weird to think that was so long ago, at yet,
it seems like only a few months ago. The great part about missionary work
is that it’s based on our efforts. Our first two hours together, we
taught 4 lessons tracting (door to door kinda thing) and met all these great
people, even invited some of them to be baptized! Then, the next 4 hours
we did the same thing, but didn't get to teach a single person! No one
let us in. The great part is that we tried our best, and I felt equally
as good about the four hours with no lessons as the two hours with four.

…So Sunday with Vern. So amazing that he was able to
come to church! He gave awesome insights in class, he sang every song, he
asked lots of good questions, he did everything you'd expect a golden
investigator to do. By a miracle, his bible study was cancelled,
and someone gave him an extra dollar (literally, that’s it) for the holiday
which was enough for him to be able to come to church! He usually has a
bible study that he has to go to, otherwise the people he lives with won’t give
him any food. It’s a rough life for him. But really, ever since
we’ve been meeting with him, his life is totally turning around. (it’s
not fast at any rate, but of course, since we’ll live forever, direction is
much more important than speed). It’s really cool. Hah, I’m so out
of words that I said “it’s really cool” to describe one of the most precious
miracles I’ve seen on my entire mission. You get the point though
(:

Family, friends, I love you. Thanks for everything!

Elder Shane Brown

Pictures -

1-2. We play volleyball on Pday mornings. One
of those random Filipino styles is the normal t-shirt with a hood on it.
America needs this.

3. Played Monopoly when we had the 6pm curfew.

4. Such a Filipino thing. Mostly because it's
illegal in the States

5. Exchanges

6. They have these random sings everywhere like this.
The grammar is usually [not] spot-on.